Impacts of Sound on Visitors' Experience in Denali National Park Front-Country (DENA)

OMB Control: #1024-0224

Current Expiration Date: 5-31-2019

Denali National Park and Preserve

Visitor Study B

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: The National Park Service is authorized by the NPS Research Mandate (54 USC 100702) to collect this information. This information will be used by park managers to understand visitors’ perceptions of sounds in the front-country of Denali National Park and Preserve. Responses to this request are voluntary and anonymous. Your name will never be associated with your answers, and all contact information will be destroyed when the data collection is concluded. No action may be taken against you for refusing to supply the information requested. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number and expiration date.

BURDEN ESTIMATE statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 15 minutes per response. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this form to: Denali National Park and Preserve, PO Box 9, Denali Park, AK 99755.

TOPIC AREA 4: VISHIS1, VISHIS3

1. Is this your first visit to Denali?

YES ☐ (If YES, move on to #2) NO ☐

If NO, Approximately how many times have you visited Denali?

Times before ___________ (approximate)

OR

☐ Don’t know/not sure

TOPIC AREA 8: PREF1

2. How important was it that these visits to Denali’s front-country provide you with the opportunity to...? Mark "Not relevant" if an aspect was not relevant for this visit.

Importance
	Not Relevant	Not at all Important	Slightly Important	Moderately Important	Very Important	Extremely Important
Appreciate the history and cultural significance of the site	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
View the natural scenery	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Experience a feeling of calmness, peace, or tranquility	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Experience a sense of adventure or challenge	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Enjoy the natural quiet and sounds of nature	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

3. How much did man-made sounds interfere with your enjoyment during your time in Denali’ front-country? (Please select one)

Much less than I expected	Less than I expected	About as much as I expected	More than I expected	Much more than I expected
1	2	3	4	5

4. What man-made sounds interfered the most with your enjoyment? (Please describe)

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

NOTE TO REVIEWER:

The questions in this section will be used to investigate the visitors’ response to a wide range of sound levels that could be experienced on a typical visit. We will ask visitors to listen to a series of 5 (out of 36) separate recordings of aircraft sounds at varying sound levels that are commonly heard in the front-country of DENA. The audio clips will be randomly assigned to visitors. Randomization of the audio clips will control for an order effect. After each audio clip, the visitor is asked to rate the acceptability of each sound, as well as, their interpretation (based on annoyance).

TOPIC AREA 6: SOUND4, SOUND5, SOUND 18, SOUND19

INSTRUCTIONS: For the next set of questions, we would like you to listen to five short recordings of sounds that are typically heard in Denali’s front-country.

Please place the headphones on your head. We will ask you to listen to five brief recordings of sounds. As you listen to each recording, imagine how you would have felt if you had heard the sounds in the recording during your visit to Denali’s front country (only).

Please listen to each recording in its entirety; the computer will automatically advance to a page with questions after each recording is finished playing.

RECORDING #1

5. How acceptable or unacceptable would the aircraft sounds in recording #1 have been if you had heard them during this visit to Denali while in the front-country?

Acceptable					Unacceptable
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

6. How pleased or annoyed would you have been by aircraft sounds in recording #1 if you had heard them during this visit Denali while in the front-country?

Pleased					Annoyed
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

7. How pleased or annoyed would you be if you heard the aircraft sounds in recording #1 at the following times and locations?

	 Pleased  Neutral  Annoyed
	Campsite	Front- country trail	Backcountry trail	Visitor Center
In the morning or before you started your activities for the day?	  	  	  	  
In the afternoon or during your activities for the day	  	  	  	  
In the evening or after you ended your activities for the day	  	  	  	  

RECORDING #2

8. How acceptable or unacceptable would the aircraft sounds in recording #2 have been if you had heard them during this visit to Denali while in the front-country?

Acceptable					Unacceptable
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

9. How pleased or annoyed would you have been by aircraft sounds in recording #2 if you had heard them during this visit Denali while in the front-country?

Pleased					Annoyed
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

10. How pleased or annoyed would you be if you heard the aircraft sounds in recording #2 at the following times and locations?

	 Pleased  Neutral  Annoyed
	Campsite	Front- country trail	Backcountry trail	Visitor Center
In the morning or before you started your activities for the day?	  	  	  	  
In the afternoon or during your activities for the day	  	  	  	  
In the evening or after you ended your activities for the day	  	  	  	  

RECORDING #3

11. How acceptable or unacceptable would the aircraft sounds in recording #3 have been if you had heard them during this visit to Denali while in the front-country?

Acceptable					Unacceptable
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

12. How pleased or annoyed would you have been by aircraft sounds in recording #3 if you had heard them during this visit Denali while in the front-country?

Pleased					Annoyed
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

13. How pleased or annoyed would you be if you heard the aircraft sounds in recording #3 at the following times and locations?

	 Pleased  Neutral  Annoyed
	Campsite	Front- country trail	Backcountry trail	Visitor Center
In the morning or before you started your activities for the day?	  	  	  	  
In the afternoon or during your activities for the day	  	  	  	  
In the evening or after you ended your activities for the day	  	  	  	  

RECORDING #4

14. How acceptable or unacceptable would the aircraft sounds in recording #4 have been if you had heard them during this visit to Denali while in the front-country?

Acceptable					Unacceptable
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

15. How pleased or annoyed would you have been by aircraft sounds in recording #4 if you had heard them during this visit Denali while in the front-country?

Pleased					Annoyed
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

16. How pleased or annoyed would you be if you heard the aircraft sounds in recording #4 at the following times and locations?

	 Pleased  Neutral  Annoyed
	Campsite	Front- country trail	Backcountry trail	Visitor Center
In the morning or before you started your activities for the day?	  	  	  	  
In the afternoon or during your activities for the day	  	  	  	  
In the evening or after you ended your activities for the day	  	  	  	  

RECORDING #5

17. How acceptable or unacceptable would the aircraft sounds in recording #5 have been if you had heard them during this visit to Denali while in the front-country?

Acceptable					Unacceptable
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

18. How pleased or annoyed would you have been by aircraft sounds in recording #5 if you had heard them during this visit Denali while in the front-country?

Pleased					Annoyed
Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

19. How pleased or annoyed would you be if you heard the aircraft sounds in recording #5 at the following times and locations?

	 Pleased  Neutral  Annoyed
	Campsite	Front- country trail	Backcountry trail	Visitor Center
In the morning or before you started your activities for the day?	  	  	  	  
In the afternoon or during your activities for the day	  	  	  	  
In the evening or after you ended your activities for the day	  	  	  	  

NOTE TO REVIEWER

The purpose of the questions in this section is to understand how visitors feel about the duration of aircraft noise, and at what point they would no longer visit DENA as a result of aircraft overflights

TOPIC AREA 6: SOUND11, SOUND16 and TOPIC AREA 3: ACT34

Now we would like to know how often you think it’s acceptable to hear aircraft sounds while in Denali’s front-country. Please listen to a short recording of both natural and aircraft sounds, and then answer the questions that follow.

RECORDING #6

20. How acceptable or unacceptable would the aircraft sound in recording #6 be if it occurred for the following amounts of time per hour during your time in Denali?

Acceptable							Unacceptable
Minutes Per Hour	Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral		Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
3	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐		☐	☐	☐	☐
9	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐		☐	☐	☐	☐
15	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐		☐	☐	☐	☐
30	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐		☐	☐	☐	☐

21. How frequently would you prefer to hear small airplanes as you heard in recording #6 while in Denali? Please enter a number or select the checkbox.

No more than ______ small airplanes in an hour

OR

☐ I would prefer to never hear small airplanes

22. How acceptable or unacceptable would the aircraft sounds in recording #6 be if you heard it the following number of times per day during your time in Denali?

Acceptable							Unacceptable
Overflights Per Day	Extremely	Very	Moderately	Slightly	Neutral		Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
1										
10										
25										
50										
100										

23. How frequently could you hear small airplanes as you heard in recording #6 before you would no longer visit Denali? Please enter a number or select the checkbox.

No more than ______ overflights in a day.

OR

 I would visit Denali’s front-country regardless of how frequently small airplanes or helicopters are heard.

TOPIC AREA 6: SOUND7

24. Besides the recordings you just listened to, did you HEAR aircraft during your time in Denali?

☐ Yes (If yes move on to #18)

☐ No (If no, move on to #19)

TOPIC AREA 6: SOUND13

25. During this visit to Denali how much did noise from aircraft annoy you?

Annoy
Not at all	Slightly	Moderately	Very	Extremely
☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

TOPIC AREA 3: TRANSMODE6

26. Have you ever taken a commercial flightseeing tour over Denali or any other park? Please check all that apply.

YES, I have taken a commercial flightseeing tour over Denali	☐
YES, I have taken a commercial flightseeing tour over another park	☐
NO, I have never taken a commercial flightseeing tour over a park	☐

TOPIC AREA 3: TRANSMODE9 (variation)

27. Are you interested in taking a commercial flightseeing tour over Denali?

☐ YES ☐ NO ☐ Don’t Know/Not Sure

TOPIC AREA 3: TRANSMODE9 (variation)

28. Have you ever taken an air taxi over Denali or any other park? Please check all that apply.

YES, I have taken an air taxi over Denali	☐
YES, I have taken an air taxi over another park	☐
NO, I have never taken an air taxi over a park	☐

TOPIC AREA 1: GROUP5

29. How many adults and how many children were in your personal group (spouse, family, friends) during this visit to Denali? Please provide a number.

Number of Adults (Age 16 or Older) _______

Number of Children (Age 15 or Younger) _______

TOPIC AREA 4: LOCALSERV8

30. On this trip, did you and your personal group camp inside Denali?

 YES

If yes, where did you camp? _____________________________________

 NO, day use only

TOPIC AREA 4: DEST9

31. On this visit, how long did you and your personal group stay at Denali? Please list hours or days below.

Number of hours, if less than 24 _______

or

Number of days, if 24 hours or more _______

TOPIC AREA 1: GROUP1

32. Were you or your personal group part of some larger commercial, educational, or other organized group of visitors? ☐ YES ☐ NO

TOPIC AREA 1: GEND 1

33. What is your gender? ☐ Female  Male

TOPIC AREA 1: AGE1

34. In what year were you born? Year born:___________

TOPIC AREA 1: RES3

35. Do you live in the United States?

 YES (What is your zip code? __________)

 NO (What country do you live in? ______________________________)

TOPIC AREA 1: EDUC1

36. What is the highest level of formal education you have completed? (Check one.)

 Some high school

 High school graduate or GED

 Some college, business or trade school

 College, business or trade school graduate

 Some graduate school

 Master’s, doctoral or professional degree

TOPIC AREA 1: RACE/ETH1

37. Are you Hispanic or Latino? ☐ YES ☐ NO

TOPIC AREA 1: RACE/ETH2

38. What is your race? (Check all that apply.)
     American Indian or Alaska Native

 Asian

 Black or African American

 Native Hawaiian

 Pacific Islander other than Native Hawaiian

 White

Denali National Park and Preserve and Penn State University

thank you for your assistance.

16